Brewers young star struggling with temporary defensive assignment

It's been just over two weeks since the Milwaukee Brewers placed Garrett Mitchell on the injured list with an oblique strain, resulting in young star Jackson Chourio moving to center field as his replacement.

Unfortunately, over 15 games, Chourio has had some costly defensive lapses that have played big roles in a pair of Brewers losses. The first was his first career error against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night, where the baseball went underneath his glove, and a runner scored. The Brewers ended up losing that game by a run.

Chourio's second defensive miscue came last night against the Cleveland Guardians on a fly ball to center field that had a catch probability of 95%, according to Statcast. He took a bad route, missed the ball, and three Cleveland runners scored as a result. Milwaukee lost this game by a score of 5-0, but that misplay was a huge momentum shift against them.

Despite the defensive blunders, advanced metrics still indicate that Chourio is holding his own in center field. Baseball Savant has him at an out above average (OAA) after the switch, and FanGraphs has him neutral when it comes to defensive runs saved (DRS). However, Chourio's inexperience in center field in the big leagues could lead to even more costly mistakes, and a change should be strongly considered.

Brewers young star Jackson Chourio is struggling in center field, and Sal Frelick should replace him

Before the injury to Mitchell, the Brewers were utilizing Frelick in center field while keeping Chourio in the corner outfield spots. However, Frelick has not played an inning at the position since April 26, as the team elected to give Chourio the job.

When Frelick has been in center field this year, Baseball Savant's analytical system has him at zero OAA, while FanGraphs has him at -3 DRS. However, OAA is quickly becoming the preferred metric as DRS can lead to inflated numbers in small sample sizes. Frelick's natural instincts, range, and effort make him a superior choice to man the position until either Mitchell or Blake Perkins returns.

Additionally, throughout their young careers, Frelick has far more experience manning center field in the majors than Chourio does. Frelick has logged 424 career innings across 67 games in center field, whereas Chourio didn't play a single inning in center a season ago, meaning the 15 games he's played there this season are the only experience he has.

At a time where the Brewers are struggling to secure wins, defense is even more important. Given Chourio's blunders, switching him back to a corner outfield spot and putting Frelick back in center should be a change that happens immediately.